Of words and deeds

Much has been spoken and written on President Obama’s recent visit to India. Let me too say my piece. Here it is…in the lighter vein.

Recent visit by Barack Obama, President of the USA and Michelle Obama, the first lady, has caused a flutter in India, US and some other parts of the world for varied reasons. Every player and spectator had their own individual agenda. For India and US it was all about money and power.

For the TV news channels it was a four day reality show where most of the participants did not have to be paid. Each word the leaders spoke, each step (pun intended) Michelle took and each ‘indication’ received from the ‘sources’ of television news channels were analysed by a relay of panels of experts. Obviously the favourite lines of the various anchors were ‘why he did what he did’ or ‘why he did not do what he did not?’ That, I suppose is what is meant by analysis.

So, for most of first two days it was why he did not utter ‘Pak’ – the perennial obsession with some of us Indians and the Indian media. Would, not uttering the “P” word during the visit, have made any difference to what actions will be taken by various players? What ever were to happen would have happened any way. We kept at it, the media put pressure and, like it or not, to the world the word “Pak” in a way dominated the visit. The Pakistan press, as is wont to, largely opposed the US support for India’s permanent seat in the UNSC – and expectedly mentioned nothing about anything else. There is an old Arabian proverb that goes “When you have spoken the word, it reigns over you. When it is unspoken you reign over it”.

When all was said the experts were on the lines of “No man means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous”. --Henry B. Adam.

It was fun alright.

So what about this that I have said; well it could be “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” – Plato